Insider Selling: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Sells 43,013 Shares of Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Deirdre O’brien also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 8th, Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $258.02 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $233.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.69. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wedbush set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.49.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its stake in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.